1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an educational game in which the success of each participant is determined at least in part by his ability to derive correct information from a reference work such as a standard encyclopedia.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are in the prior art a number of games of the question and answer type where the success of the participants is determined by his or her ability to correctly answer questions presented in the course of the game. In some instances, the format of these games has resembled a radio or television quiz program, with the questions being of such a type which could be expected to be within the knowledge of a reasonably well informed person. In such games, the answers to such questions are provided in a conveniently available form so that the correctness of the answer can be readily ascertained during the progress of the game.
Certain games of this type have appeared in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,635,734, Ziegler, shows a game where there is a game board having a path of travel along which are written various questions, with answers being provided along the side of the board. For the player to successfully complete travel over this path to an end destination, which is a school house, he must successfully select the right answer from the margin of the board. As an alternate, the player can select geographical locations from an associated map, and this can be used in conjunction with cards having the questions on one side and the answers on the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,717,156, Nelson shows a question and answer game where the questions are printed on one side and the answers on the other. These question and answer cards are arranged in subject catagories, and a spinner is used to determine from which catagory the player is to have his question selected. The player reads the question on one side, gives his answer, and if this corresponds to the correct answer on the opposite side of the card, that player is able to progress along the path of travel of a game board.
Other examples of the prior art are shown in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 1,148,737, Atkins; U.S. Pat. No. 2,693,961, Ripley; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,508, Snyder. While these patents do not relate to games of a question and answer type, they are representative of various game board configurations and game components used in conjunction therewith.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an educational game in which a standard reference work, such as an encyclopedia, is utilized as one of the game components, with the game being arranged so that the participants develop skills in informational research by use of such reference work.